Bloom Day (Part 2) - May 2023

I've broken my May 2023 Bloom Day post into segments because even I've found my garden overwhelming this month.  Part one can be found here.

Today's post covers my south-side and north-side gardens.  I'll start with the south-side area, using some wide shots to help with orientation.

This is the south-side garden photographed from our back garden looking west

Leucadendron 'High Gold' is the most prominent flowering shrub to be seen from this end but there are other flowers here and there

Touches of orange-red can be found growing as a groundcover below the Leucospermum.  Metrosideros collina 'Spring Fire' (right) echos the color from the other side of the flagstone path.  Leucospermum 'Sunrise' has chosen not to bloom this year, presumably because I cut it back too hard or too late last year.

This Agave 'Blue Glow' sits just outside the frame of the earlier wide shot.  Its flowers appear to be mostly spent but I'm giving it time to see if the scruffy bloom stalk will develop bulbils.  So far the mother plant shows no sign of decline.

Just behind the Agave in the last photo you can see this Hymenolepsis crithmifolia (aka Coulter bush)

Hidden to the right of Leucospermum 'High Gold' are Grevillea alpina x rosmarinifolia and G. 'Poorinda Leane', both shown here in flower closeups

This wide shot was taken from the small patio on the south side of the house looking further south

Lagurus ovatus (aka bunny tail grass) has self-seeded in among my succulents.  I sowed the original seeds in another bed years ago but they chose to move themselves to spots of their own choosing.

These are plants you might have spotted in the last wide shot if you have an eagle eye.  Clockwise from the upper left they are: self-seeded Eschscholzia californica (California poppies), Grevillea 'Moonlight', and the first flowers of Salvia clevelandii 'Winnifred Gilman'.  I sowed more poppy seeds in the bed adjacent to the patio in February and they're only just starting to bloom.

The plants shown here can't be seen in any of my wide shots.  As in other parts of my garden, Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi Verde' (left) is blooming heavier this year.  The groundcover Delosperma (aka lavender ice plant, right) is growing along the dirt path between the south-side bed and the hedge behind it.

This wide shot of the south-side garden was taken from the front garden looking east.  It provides the best view of the area.

I'm happy with this combination, dominated by 3 varieties of Cistus and Callistemon 'Hot Pink', and punctuated by the vivid foliage of Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple'

A closer look at Callistemon 'Hot Pink'

This is Cistus x pulverulentus 'Sunset'

These are closeups of the other 2 other hybrid Cistus, C. 'Grayswood Pink' (left) and C. x scanbergii

Limonium perezii (aka sea lavender) occupies the south end of the bed containing the Cistus

A self-seeded Echium candicans sits at the far end of the same bed, right along the property line

Now, we'll move to the north-side garden.

View of the north-side garden from the walkway adjacent to the house

A deeper view of the same area from a slightly different angle

Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' is the flashiest plant in this area at the moment

Flowers of Aeonium haworthii 'Kiwi' are crowding the gravel path that leads to our back slope.  I've promised my husband I'll cut back the Aeonium as soon as the plants are done blooming.

Centranthus ruber is a weed here but a pretty one

The bloom stalk on Agave vilmoriniana is the prettiest of the 3 agaves currently blooming in my garden

The Cistus viridiflorus visible in the photo of the agave above is shown closer up here, along with the Osteospermum 'Double Moonglow' growing in front of it

Other blooming plants in this area include, clockwise from the upper left: Erigeron karvinskianus (another weed here), Grevillea sericea, Lavandula dentata, Oenothera speciosa, and Sideritis cypria

Another wide shot of the north-side garden taken from the other end of the area

Psoralea pennata (aka Kool-aid bush because of its grape soda scent) is putting on its spring show.  It's a bit spindly for my taste but it's flowering heavily.

A variety of Pelargoniums line the bed along the walkway adjacent to the house.  These are Pelargonium 'Lemona' (left) and P. 'Lady Plymouth' (right).

I haven't yet covered the front garden but I may wrap up the week with the blooms there, finally calling Bloom Day a wrap.  As I use some of the same flowers in various areas of the garden, I'm not sure this is the easiest presentation in terms of my time but I'd be interested to know if readers feel it's easier to digest.

For other Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day posts, check in with our host, Carol at May Dreams Gardens.

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party